


The Avengers 'Pacifist Run'

by Hello_I_Exist



Series: How to Save the World [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Important characters tagged only, Magicant (Mother Series), Only 'Undertale' because of the previous parts of the series, Partial Mind Control suuuuuuucks, Saving Loki because he was just as much a victim as anybody else, There are a bunch of minor ones too, rated teen because Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28581066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hello_I_Exist/pseuds/Hello_I_Exist
Summary: An adult Ness is brought in for the Avengers Initiative, along with his father, Ninten.They single-handedly change everything.
Relationships: Ness/Paula, Past Ninten/Ana
Series: How to Save the World [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967080
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Recruitment

**Author's Note:**

> So this was an idea I had after binge-watching Marvel back during "Endgame's" release. It stuck with me, but I never had a good opportunity to try to write it until now, seeing as I have a perfectly good series to add to.

There was an unfamiliar man in Ness's kitchen.

That was the first thought that went through his mind.

It made sense, of course. Seeing an unfamiliar person in a place they shouldn't be was a good reason to panic.

His second thought was that the man seemed familiar, according to a description given to Ness a long time ago.

_Trench coat... Check._

_Eyepatch... Check._

_Strong mental block... Check._

The man's mental block was nothing compared to Ness's ability, but the fact a non-psychic had any at all was incredible. He had likely practiced.

What to do...?

...

Ness turned away, walked over to a cabinet, and pulled out a coffee machine.

He filled it with water, along with one of those little cup-thingies that the machine pokes a hole through.

The machine began to brew. Ness stood in silence for a few seconds.

...

...

...

Ding.

Ness pulled the coffee pitcher out of the machine and poured two cups.

He carried them over to the table and sat down.

He placed one across from himself, in front of the other man.

Ness drank from his own cup.

The mystery man raised a brow, picked his own up and began to drink as well.

Ness placed his cup down. Mr. Man put down his as well.

...

...

...

The man opened his mouth to speak, but Ness spoke first.

"Nicholas Joseph Fury."

The man- Whose name Ness could remember now- raised a brow.

"I don't know why you're here. I don't know who you are. Just that Ninten trusted you."

Ninten. Ness's father. Absent most of his life.

Fury's nodded. "Understandable." He had a strange accent, and a strong voice. "Though, Frankly, if I were him, I wouldn't trust myself as far as I could throw. And we both know Ninten could throw pretty damn far."

Ness nods. "So. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to speak to you about the Avengers initiative."

"Nope."

Ness stood up and made to walk away.

"Shoulda asked Ninten, if you two knew each other. Unless you couldn't find him?"

"We asked him. He said yes. But he also recommended you."

"Well, fuck him."

Fury raised a brow. Spy-speak for _what?????_

"If he thinks I'm gonna leave my family behind to join some spy organization, he's got something coming to him. I am _not_ abandoning any of them."

_Not like he did._

The last part did not need to be said.

"Besides. I'm kind of in the middle of being the ambassador for human-monster relations, so unless you have a problem with them-"

"Mr. Ebbund, we are at _war. Again_."

This threw Ness off.

"...Starmen again?"

"A man called Loki. He has an alien army. He plans to invade Earth."

...

Ness sighed.

"Let me make some calls-"

"We already asked your teammates. They all said no."

"Including Paula?"

"Including her."

Well that was frustrating.

"Look. If you think me and my dad are going to single-handedly face off an entire invasion-"

"I never said you'd be alone."

"The Avengers initiative. I'm guessing I'm not the only person you've recruited like this."

Fury gestures to a file on the table.

Ness picks it up and opens it.

"...Let's see. Bruce Banner, never heard of him... Natasha Romanov. Clint Barton. Spies, right? And... Iron Man, huh? Makes sense... Captain America?"

Ness raises his head. "Okay, first off, he's dead. And even if he wasn't, he'd be _at least_ seventy years old."

"Just keep reading."

"...Ooooh. Okay. Iced over, huh? Musta been a shock, waking up like that... Jeff could probably get him hooked up with a way back, though I guess you probably wouldn't allow that..." 

Ness pauses. "Loki. Interesting. Isn't he, like, from Mythology or something?"

No response.

"...Guess so."

Ness sighs.

"This is gonna suck... I'm in."

Fury nodded, seemingly satisfied.

* * *

"What is all this?"

"This is... _This_."

Tony Stark swung his hands outwards and seven holograms appeared.

Five of them made at least some sense. 'Thor,' 'Steve Rodgers,' 'Bruce Banner,' 'Natasha Romonov,' 'Clint Barton.' They were all perfectly functioning adults.

Then there were the last two.

'Ness Ebbund.' 'Ninten Ebbund.'

_Guess heroism runs in the family_ , Tony supposed as he and Pepper turned away from the holograms.


	2. Germany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Germany.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Germany.

The plane to Germany had only one other person on it besides the pilots, and he was a familiar Blonde-Haired, heavily muscled man in a tight blue suit.

Captain America had returned.

Ness was sat beside him on the long row of chairs in the 'Quinjet.'

...

...

...

"So. Captain America, huh? Big honor?"

Steve Rodgers nodded. "I guess."

"Well, nice to meet you."

Steve nodded.

It was all that was said.

...

...

...

"How's modern life treating you?"

Steve sighed. He must get asked that question a lot.

"Well, the technology's amazing. Never thought computers could get so small. Um. The food's a lot different too. More foreign stuff."

It's clearly a practiced line- Or at least one he's said a million times.

"I'm guessing you get a lot of questions about that sort of thing?"

Steve raised his brow and glanced over at Ness.

"Yeah... After I did my whole 'save the world' thing, I got a million reporters asking me about my PSI. 'What's it like being a psychic?' It's. Well. I don't say everything to them, and I guess you don't either."

Steve seemed to be quite stunned at that response.

He looked away from Ness.

"...It's the small things."

Ness raised a brow.

"The big screens and computers and stuff... That doesn't bother me. It's all the tiny things. Things that you never really notice until they're different or gone."

Ness nods in understanding.

...

...

...

"We're nearing our destination," the left pilot spoke.

_Showtime._

* * *

A plan was quickly agreed upon. Ness was easily the stronger of the two, so he would act as a 'secret weapon' of sorts. He would stay in the crowd and only attack once Loki was distracted by Steve.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else?"

And. Well. It was working, no matter how humiliating it was for Ness to kneel along with the rest of the crowd.

"We ended up disagreeing."

Loki slowly yet shakily stood up from where he had been knocked down by his own blast.

"The soldier!" He says, somehow sneering and chuckling at the same time. "The man out of time!"

" _I'm_ not the one who's out of time," Steve responds.

The Quinjet flies down to hover above the plaza.

Somebody speaks through the PA.

" **Loki, drop the weapon and stand down.** "

_Focus... And Warp._

Ness vanishes and reappears in the crowd, a short distance behind Loki, as he and Steve begin to fight.

Loki swung his staff- Once- Twice- Three times. Steve was sent a good few feet away, but managed to land in a roll.

Steve threw his shield- Loki deflects- And as Steve ran up to attack-

Ness tried PSI Paralysis. Loki froze and Steve threw a punch that caused a loud _crack_ to sound through the air.

Loki stumbled back, seemingly having regained control of himself.

_And they say support is pointless,_ Ness thought with a smirk.

Loki spun around, only for Ness to send out another Paralysis. Loki froze again, just in time for Steve to drop-kick him into a wall.

Loki groaned and clutched at his stomach where Steve had kicked him.

Ness finally stepped forward, past Steve, and in front of Loki.

Loki stared at him. He stared at Loki.

...Loki's eyes were mostly green, with a bit of foggy blue in them. _Why was that important?_ It nagged at something in the back of Ness's mind.

Loki slowly raised his hands in surrender.

Then, suddenly-

" **Miss me, Agent Romanoff?** "

The PA system began to play rock music as something began to soar through the sky behind the Quinjet.

It was coming towards them.

Ness just sighed. He didn't want to deal with Tony freaking Stark right now, dammit!

The 'Iron Man' suit landed between nearby in the quintessential 'Superhero' pose.

Iron Man stood up.

He nodded to Ness.

" **Hello, Mr. Ebbund. Uh. You too, I guess, Captain.** "

"Stark," you and Steve both replied at the same time.

* * *

The flight back to the 'helicarrier,' whatever that was, was uneventful at first. Nobody spoke, besides Romanoff sending a message to Fury about how Loki hadn't spoken a word thus far.

...

...

...

"I don't like it."

Both Steve and Stark turned towards Ness. Stark was the one who spoke.

"What, how Reindeer Games over here surrendered so easily?"

"Yeah. That doesn't seem right. I mean, I stun him a few times, Steve drop-kicks him, we win? I would think we would have to at least knock him unconscious."

"I agree," Steve pipes up. "Something else is going on. He's got a plan."

Then the thunder and lighting came. Everybody looked out the window.

"Where is this coming from...?" The female pilot spoke.

Ness turned around. Loki looked quite nervous.

"...What's up with you?"

Loki pursed his lips. "I'm not that fond of thunder, quite honestly. Or, more accurately, what _follows_."

A loud bang was heard from the roof of the Quinjet.

_Thor, god of Thunder. Loki's brother._

Fuck.

"Nobody open that door, no matter what you do."

Stark's thumb was already nearing the button. His helmet was on.

He turned toward Ness.

" **I-I'm sorry, who put you in charge?** "

"I put _myself_ in charge-"

" **Nope! Goodbye!** "

Stark pressed the fucking button and the door slowly opened.

Somebody blonde-haired, red-caped and hammer-wielding landed on the platform the door created.

Ness stepped in front of Stark before he could attack.

They needed to do this properly.

"Hey! Who are you?"

The man stood tall- Taller, even, then Steve.

"I have come here for Loki! Return him to me at once so he may face Asgardian justice!"

Ness blinked. "Uh. Sorry? We kind of need him for the Tesseract."

Thor- because that was obviously who he was- Frowned and gripped his hammer tighter.

"Look, I don't want to fight you-"

" **A sentiment that I do _not_ share.**"

" _Shut up, Stark_. But I will stop you if I have to."

For a while, nobody moved.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Thor sighs and lowers his hammer.

"Very well. I shall work with you to regain the tesseract."

Ness nods-

"But once we have found it I am bringing Loki and the tesseract back to Asgard with me, understood?"

Ness nods again.

Thor nods as well.

...

...

"So. Uh. You gonna take a seat?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose I shall."


	3. Helicarrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Helicarrier meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into the parts I'm really excited for!

_"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape... If you so much as scratch that glass..."_

Ness and the others watch through the camera-feed as Fury presses a large, red button on a panel nearby Loki's cage, cueing howling winds to start blowing into the room.

_"It's 30'000 feet straight down In a steel trap. You get how that works?"_

The button is pressed again. The howling winds stop.

_"Ant. Boot."_

_"Oh, It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me,"_ Loki retorts.

Fury fires back. _"Built for something a lot stronger than you."_

_"Oh, I've heard-"_ -Loki turns towards and looks directly into the camera- _"-A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man."_

Everybody present- Those being Rodgers, Thor (surprisingly enough), Romanoff, Banner, Ness, and a few other agents- Slowly turn to look at the scientist.

He's smirking. Guess he's heard worse.

Everyone looks back at the screen.

_"How desperate are you? That you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"_

Fury's face contorts at this.

_"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me_ very _desperate. You might not be glad that you did."_

_"Ooh... It_ burns _you to h_ _ave come so close. To have the Tesseract... To have power... Unlimited power! And for what?"_

Loki looks back at the camera, a strange look on his face.

_"A warm light for all mankind to share?"_

Loki turns back towards Fury, smirking. _"And then to be reminded what_ real _power is."_

And Fury responds in the only way he really could.

_"Well. Let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something."_

The video cuts out and everybody is left in stunned silence.

...

...

...

...

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner says, cutting through the silence.

Everybody ignores him.

"Loki's gonna try to drag this out," Rodgers suddenly pipes up. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor responds. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Ness quickly cuts in. "I don't like this. Something about all this seems off. Why does he want the Earth in the first place, anyway? Does he really think he can conquer us all just like that?"

"Loki believes himself superior to humanity, I believe." Thor says, scratching his chin. "He believes his rule will somehow improve the planet."

"Load of good he's done so far," Romanoff says. "Besides, he doesn't seem to be entirely stable."

And then, a new voice. "I agree."

Ness groans. He recognizes that voice.

He turns towards the entryway. A man with black hair and violet eyes, just like him, stands there. Unlike Ness, however, he is beginning to show signs of age- Graying hair and wrinkles. He also has what looks to be an electric baton at his waist, unlike Ness, who is un-armed.

"Hey, kiddo." He says lightly to Ness.

"I was _really_ hoping to get through this meeting without having to see you, _Ninten_."

Ninten- Ness's father- Winces.

"Besides. I'm 25 now. I'm pretty sure you can retire 'kiddo' now."

"You'll always-"

" _Don't you dare finish that fucking sentence_. You lost the right to call me 'son' the day you left me and Mom."

"I didn't want to-"

"Then why did you?"

There's no response. 

"Exactly."

"Jeez. And here I thought _I_ had daddy issues."

Everybody turns towards the next person to enter the room- Stark.

It's at this point Ness realizes he had been standing up the whole time. Ness slowly sits down.

Stark steps towards the table that the others are all sat at.

"Remind me to never piss off Harry Potter over here," he says, pointing to Ness. "He looks like he could hold a _serious_ grudge."

"Harry... Wait, what?"

"Anyway!"

Stark turns towards Banner.

"Can I just say, it is absolutely _grand_ to meet you? Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled."

Banner's brows rise in surprise.

"Aaaand I'm also a fan of how you lose control and turn into a giant green rage monster."

Banner's face falls. "Uh. Thanks?"

"Hey, Stark? Shut up." Ness shouts out from the table.

Stark turns back towards Ness, but before he can say anything, Rodgers speaks out. "You know, just because you were once a leader of another team, that doesn't mean you can just boss everybody around now."

"No, it doesn't. It just means I'm more _qualified_ then the rest of you to lead."

"That is _not_ what I said-"

"Both of you _shut_. _Up_." Nick Fury had returned.

The two conflicting heroes both shut their mouths. When Nick Fury asked you to shut up, you shut up.

Fury turns towards Stark and Banner. "Your lab is ready, Stark. Banner."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Stark waltzes out and Banner follows, a 'completely done' expression on his face.

Fury turns back towards the conflictors. "I want the two of you to understand something. This is a very, _very_ serious matter. I will _not_ be having any infighting _whatsoever_. _Understood_?"

Rodgers replied quickly with a "Yes, sir."

Ness just sighed and nodded.

"Good."

Finally, Fury turns toward Thor and Natasha. "I would like you two to come with me."

The two glanced at each other, confused, before standing up and following Fury out of the room.

That just left Ness, Ninten and Rodgers in an awkward situation.

Rodgers could probably sense the tension between the father and the son.

"...I'm gonna go check on Stark and Banner."

Ness just nods, a hand at his face. "You go do that."

He stood and left. Ninten sat down in his place.

The two stared at each other for a long while.

...

...

...

"Tracy owns a shipping company now, you know that?"

"I didn't."

"Hm."

...

...

...

"You know, I have an apartment in Los Angeles now. I took out three hidden terrorist bases in the middle east last month."

"May the wonders of teleportation never cease."

...

...

...

"You were probably just _waiting_ for somebody to give you a call, weren't you?"

"I always am. I have to always be ready for anything."

Ness sneered at him. Ninten lowered his head.

...

...

...

"You know, Mom died the day I turned eighteen and was able to care for Tracy on my own."

Ninten raised his head, shocked.

"She was literally hanging on for us. She was... The best. Ever."

"..."

"Ninten. Say something."

"You know I would die for you, kiddo."

"But would you _live_ for us? You wouldn't. You didn't."

"I already live for the world-"

"But you left us. You left me. I idolized you, dad."

Ninten stares.

"And you just... Left. Because you 'had a responsibility to the world,' and not one to us."

"..."

"Say something."

"..."

"Say. Something."

"..."

" _Say-_ "

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay? I know there's nothing I can say to make up for this, but I _am_ sorry. Leaving my family is my greatest regret."

"Then why did you do it?"

"...Because I thought I could come back at any time."

"Then you're not sorry for doing it. You're sorry that there are consequences."

"..."

"You make me sick."

Suddenly, somebody walked into the room. Both people turned towards the person who entered.

It's Romanoff and Thor.

"Loki's going to unleash the Hulk. Come with me to the lab."


	4. Lab (Mini-Chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lab conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much shorter chapter, here! More setup than anything. The next chapter will be much longer.

"I'm sorry, Nick, what were you lying?"

Those were the words that accompanied Ness, his father's, Thor's and Romanoff's entrance to the lab. Present were Stark, Banner, Fury, and surprisingly enough, Rodgers. The one who had spoken was Stark.

Ness glanced at the screen and saw none other than a Tesseract-powered missile.

Ness just sighed and looked over at Fury.

"Really, Nick? Really?"

Fury's face flared up. Rodgers, who had been standing nearby, spoke up.

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit."

Meanwhile, Romanoff carefully stepped towards Bruce and carefully guided him out of the room by the shoulder, despite Bruce quietly insisting that he was fine. Thor just frowned.

Ninten, on the other hand.

"Fury."

Fury blinked and looked over at Ninten, who had sat down in a nearby chair.

"I thought you were better than this."

He wasn't angry. Just disappointed.

Fury's face screwed up in anger of his own.

"I don't think you understand the full scope of what this is."

"The enlighten me."

Fury gestured at Thor. "A few months ago, this man over here, along with a friend of his, had a grudge match that _levelled_ a small town. That was when I realized that we were far more outmatched then I had once expected."

"The world's managed to turn back invasions _twice before_ , Nicholas. Explain why we need weapons."

"Because there aren't always gonna be people like you in the world. People who are willing to _fight_. People _strong enough_ to fight."

Ninten raised his brow.

"We need these weapons so our fate doesn't hinge on people like you existing." (Rodgers's silent fuming seemed to lessen a little at this statement.)

But, suddenly, Thor spoke up.

"I- Excuse me... Fury, was it?"

Fury raised a brow and nodded.

"Yes, I just wanted to say that our people want nothing but peace with your planet. I... I'm done, now."

"Actually, hold on, Thor."

Thor turned towards the speaker- Ness.

"I have a question for you. What color are Loki's eyes?"

Confusion filled the room.

"...A vibrant green, though I'm not sure I understand the purpose of the question-"

"And the Staff makes people's eyes blue, right?"

"Were are you going with this?"

"In Germany. Loki's eyes were mostly green. But they had some blue in them."

Everybody freezes.

"Loki's not fully in control of himself. I think he's probably still awake, unlike the ones he poked. But Loki is probably... Influenced."

Ness nods to Ninten. "You know the difference between that and control."

Ninten nods back.

Thor's eyes widen. "So... We could save him?"

"Now, hold on-" Fury tried to interrupt.

"Yeah. I think we can."

* * *

Loki had been having a perfectly boring time in his cell when, suddenly, a familiar man appeared inside with him.

Loki turned, readying a knife-

Suddenly, his whole body froze and he couldn't move-

The man, who had black hair and violet eyes, stepped forward and pressed two fingers to Loki's temple.

And the whole world went dark.


	5. Magicant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ness enters Loki's Magicant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS is the big chapter of the fic! This is why I made this whole thing in the first place!

When Ness opened his eyes, he was in an empty void.

There was nothing to be seen. Yet he could feel the grass under his bare feet...

Wait.

Ness glanced down at himself. He could not see.

...Ah. It wasn't a void, it was just dark.

Ness held up an arm and tried a low level PSI Flash. The small ball of light that appeared did not explode, but instead stayed in the palm of his hand.

What he could see was the inside of a room. Ruined, filled with stone and wood debris. The floor was stone around him, except for a small patch of grass where Ness stood.

Speaking of Ness, he glanced down at himself.

He was a child again, dressed in a long, soft and comfortable brown robe, similar to a bathrobe, though more... Medieval.

He also wasn't wearing shoes. Unfortunate.

Ness glanced around more closely at the room. It appeared to be a large, church-sized banquet hall, made of brown stone.

There was a large door at the end. Ness stepped towards the door.

He opened it and gasped at what he saw.

An endless bridge of rainbow-colored glass stretched out into the vast abyss of space, leading up to a massive golden city that looked to be in ruins.

And in front of Ness stood Thor in Earthen clothing. 

He turned towards Ness and spoke.

"Greetings. I am Courage."

Ah. He's like a Flying Man.

"My brother has fallen to a dark place, through both fault of his own and not. He knows it not, but he desires help. Will you help him?"

"That's what I'm here to do."

"Then accept my assistance."

**[Magicant Thor] has joined [Ness]'s party.**

The party of one, now a part of two, stepped further onto the bridge.

Courage- Thor, rather- Wasn't very talkative, Ness discovered. The walk upon the bridge was long, yet neither party member said a word.

Suddenly, a trio of large blue men materialized in front of them.

**Ness encountered the Frost giants!**

**Ness tried PSI Rockin' **α!****

****Frost Giant A took 212 HP of damage!** **

****Frost Giant B took 198 HP of damage!** **

****Frost Giant C took 250 HP of damage!** **

****Thor stewed up a LV 1 Storm!** **

****Frost Giant A took 94 HP of mortal damage!** **

****Frost Giant B took 81 HP of mortal damage!** **

****Frost Giant C took 70 HP of mortal damage!** **

****Ness and Thor won!** **

****Oh baby!** ** ****Thor Leveled up to level 81!** **

Ness lowered his hands and nodded. The two of them moved on.

* * *

The golden city- Asgard, Ness presumes- was completely destroyed. For some reason, though, the only way to go was forward, as all other alternate paths were covered in rocks or otherwise destroyed.

Only way to go was forwards, to the entrance of the grand palace.

Except, in front of the doors, there stood an unfamiliar man.

He was tall, wore golden armor, and wielded a massive broadsword.

"Greetings. I am Courage."

Who was this?

"My king's son has fallen. You wish to stand him back up."

"Yes."

"Then I shall join."

**[Magicant Heimdall] has joined [Ness]'s party!**

Ness and Thor nod and continue past Heimdall to the doors.

Ness opens the doors and is met with another glass bridge, this time only a few dozen feet long until it hits a shattered end.

There is a man standing there, holding onto the foot of somebody hanging onto the end of the bridge.

Ness rushes forward to help, but-

His hand passes through the foot. 

_It's a memory..._

The foot belonged to Thor, who was hanging on to one end of a long spear, with Loki grasping the other end.

Loki begins to shout up.

"I COULD HAVE DONE IT, FATHER!!! I COULD HAVE DONE IT!!! FOR YOU!!! FOR ALL OF US!!!"

"No, Loki."

...Oh.

Loki's face could only be described as crestfallen- As if all of his dreams were crushed in that one line.

"Loki, Don't!" Memory-Thor cries.

Loki lets go of the spear and falls into the spiraling void.

"NO!!!!"

And there was a quiet "No..." from Odin as well.

...

...

...

Ness leaps off the bridge and into the void as well.

* * *

_The Bifrost will build until it rips Jotunheim apart!_

_You can't kill an entire race!_

_No, Loki._

_Where did this sudden love  
_ _for the frost Giants come from?_

_To prove to father that  
_ _I am the worthy son!_

_No, Loki._

_What am I...?_

_You're Laufrey's son._

_No, Loki._

**_No, Loki._ **

**_NO, LOKI._ **

* * *

Ness stood on a single rocky platform in a seemingly endless void.

In front of him sat Loki, though he was wrapped up in chains. Most were green- Ones of his own creation.

But some were yellow. Perhaps the staff?

Ness steps forward and sits in front of Loki.

"Hey, Loki."

...

"You're probably wondering who I am. Well, I'm Ness. It's nice to meet you."

...

"I know you probably don't like yourself very much. I mean, it makes sense. You've been through a lot."

...

"You were always jealous. And, I mean, it makes sense and that's fine. Jealousy is a perfectly normal feeling to have."

Loki twitched a little.

"But I don't care who you are, or what you've done, really. I'm here to save you."

...

"Loki. I know you may feel like the whole world is against you. I know you may hate some people."

...

"...And I know you may feel some people hate you."

...

"But they don't Loki. My dad... My dad has no idea how to show how much he cares. I know he does... But he can't show it because he's just not good at that sort of thing."

Loki twitched, more strongly this time.

"I never really liked myself that much when I was a kid. I... The only reason I kept myself alive is because I had a sister and a mom to take care of, because without me, where would they be?"

Loki twitched harshly.

"So. I kind of know where you've been."

Loki raised his head to look Ness in the face. His eyes were full of tears.

"But I didn't give up. You did, but you've got a second chance now!"

Loki blinked in confusion.

"I can't save you. Not like this. But I can tell you that your brother loves you. More than anything."

Loki's eyes widened.

"He's willing to die for you. Don't... That sort of real love only comes once in a lifetime. So. Don't forget that, okay?"

Loki lowered his head and began to shake.

"Don't give up. Even if everything seems against you, you can't give up. Because somebody out there cares.

"Break those chains, Loki. _Help us save the world_ and redeem yourself. It's not an easy process, but damn is it satisfying."

The chains vanished and Loki fell over. Ness rushed over to help him up.

Ness stares Loki in the face. Loki's eyes were filled with wonder.

"What... What did you do?"

" _I_ didn't do anything. You set _yourself_ free."

And the world was filled with light-t-t-t-t-tt--tt--tt-t-t-t-t-t-tt--t-t-tt--ttt-

**"Interesting."**

Ness and Loki stood up, Loki's face contorted in fear.

"No. Nonono, not here, not in my _head_ -"

**"The Asgardian was stronger than I thought."**

The voice was deep. Booming. And Loki was terrified.

"Loki, who is that?"

"Thanos! We need to run-"

And he appeared, in a burst of darkness and _power_.

He was at least nine feet tall, had bulging muscles across his body, and wore a set of golden armor. What little skin was exposed- Like his face- Was purple. His chin had many lines on it.

Ness stood tall before Thanos, the Mad Titan.

**"Or was it you? Your eyes betray your age, young one. You have seen far more darkness in this world than even I have, haven't you..."**

Thanos smirked.

**"G i y g a s - S l a y e r."**

Ness clenched his fists. Thor, armed with his hammer this time appeared alongside Heimdall.

A long spear appeared in Ness's hands- Gungir.

Loki seeing the others ready to fight, stood and readied a knife.

**"So, you choose to fight. Interesting."**

Thanos flicked his wrist. A double-bladed longsword appeared in his hand.

**"Well then... Allow me to test your will!"**

And Thanos lunged, faster than a man that big had any right to be.

But Ness dodged quickly, along with the others. He swung the spear at Thanos's side, but it just glanced off.

Loki threw a knife, but Thanos caught it and threw it aside- But a hammer came flying out of nowhere, forcing Thanos to move to avoid it.

Thanos backed up.

**"I suppose I must change strategy."**

Ness threw out his hand and used Rockin' Ω.

It hit Thanos dead-on. He stumbled.

****Thanos, The Mad Titan took 157 HP of damage!** **

That was Omega level!

**"Hmm. It seems I am weaker here than the physical world."**

_This_ was _weaker!?_

Ness growled and swung Gungir, same time as Loki went to stab Thanos in the back. Unable to avoid both attacks, Thanos chose to block the spear with the sword, while grabbing Loki's arm and throwing him away.

But suddenly, Thanos was hit with a massive bolt of lightning from Thor as Heimdall rushed forward to continue the charge.

Ness threw a hand forward again and charged a very, _very_ powerful attack.

PSI Rockin' ζ. Zeta.

He rushed forward and slammed his hand into Thanos's stomach.

**Thanos, The Mad Titan, took 1765 HP of Mortal damage!**

Thanos stumbled backwards, gazing at the massive hole in his stomach.

**"Hmm... It appears I was overconfident."**

He looked up at the party of four.

**"Very well. We shall meet again, Giygas-Slayer."**

And the whole world went white.


	6. Thanos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations about Thanos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're past Magicant. Loki joins the Avengers! Reluctantly. Also, sorry it's so short. Writer's block strikes again...

Everybody watched the camera feed of the prison room anxiously as Ness pressed his fingers to Loki's temple.

One second passed.

Another.

Another-

Ness stumbled backwards. Loki slumped over.

Everybody takes a deep breath.

Ness steps forward. He holds out a hand.

...

...

...

Loki takes it.

Everybody- Especially Thor- Released the breath they had been holding.

Then, the two of them flicker out of existence and immediately re-appear in the meeting room.

"Woah, woah-"

"What the hell-"

"Ness-"

"WHAT THE F-"

"EVERYBODY SHUT IT!" Ness screams at the top of his lungs.

Everybody shuts it.

Ness steps back, leaving Loki standing at the end of the table.

Loki blinks and turns towards the violet-eyed Psychic.

"What are you-"

"You've got the floor now. Tell them about Thanos."

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room seems to darken. 

Loki breathes. In. Out.

He turns towards everybody else.

"...Yes. Very Well. Thanos. He is... The one who gave me the Chitauri. He is very strong, very intelligent, and very, _very_ dangerous, and his goal is nothing less than Genocide on a scale most of you could only dream of. He speaks of balancing the universe, but his true plan is randomly wiping out half of all life in the universe."

"I have heard the name as well!" Thor says suddenly.

His face falls. "Though I do not remember where. I shall ask Father about it once I return to Asgard."

Ness nods. "I was in Loki's mind when we encountered him. He was the one influencing him."

Ness's face screws up. "And he's strong. Scary strong. I used an attack that could blow up a small mountain and all it did was make a hole in his stomach- And he was _weakened_ at the time because he wasn't fully there."

Ness sighs and leans back in his chair. "If we fight him as we are now we will _probably_ lose. Actually, definitely."

Everybody glances at each other uncomfortably.

"So... What do you say we do?" Banner asks quietly.

"We need to turn back this invasion."

"Wait. But... We freed Loki? No Loki, no invasion, right?" Stark asks, confused.

"The Scepter's control will likely default to whoever was controlling Loki- Thanos himself," Thor responds.

"Not controlling, influencing. There's a difference."

"Yes, well, Thanos is the one in control now in any case."

Ninten raises a hand. "Can I just say I don't trust this at all?"

"If you can't trust Loki, trust me," Ness responds.

That didn't seem to make Ninten feel any better.

"...Well-"

_Beep-Beep!_

Everybody turns to Banner, who was looking at a SHIELD tablet in what seemed to be a stunned silence.

He raises his head.

"We found the cube. Guess where it is," he says simply.

"Where?"

"Stark Tower."

_God fucking dammit._

* * *


	7. The Battle of New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers face off against an army of Chitauri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD DAMMIT this chapter was hard to write. But I did it and did it good! Maybe! I hope!
> 
> ...UUUUUGHHHHH

The ride in the Quinjet was incredibly awkward.

Nine people, all crammed into small space, one of them being an anti-human murderer who had wanted to conquer Earth.

So. Yeah.

The other eight Avengers all stood throughout the jet as well.

...

...

...

"Loki," Thor spoke quietly.

"Yes?" Loki responds conversationally.

"Do you truly no longer wish to conquer Earth?"

Loki paused. "Well, no."

Steve speaks up. "And you don't think humans are beneath you, anymore?"

"Oh, I do."

Everybody slowly turns to look at Loki.

"Of course, most people on Asgard believe themselves above humanity, so I'm not exactly special."

Everybody slowly turns away from Loki.

"...I still think I would make a good ruler," he says to himself.

* * *

Steve gripped the shield in his hands tightly as they stepped out of the jet.

A massive portal begins to open in the sky above Stark Tower.

"Alright, everybody. Here's the plan," Rodgers began. "Tony, stay in the air , firing at anything you can. Me, Romanoff, and... Loki... will keep to the streets, helping the civilians. Thor, bottleneck that portal- Blast as many of the Chit... Chi... Aliens as possible. Hulk... Uh. Smash, I guess. Ness, you go deal with whoever's leading the army, then help civilians, understood?"

"Got it, Captain."

Ness vanishes, presumably warping to Stark tower.

* * *

Ness reappeared at the top of Stark tower, atop a launch pad.

Ness grips his baseball bat as he rushes over to the portal generator and the three men standing next to it.

One of them was old, one was holding a bow, and the third was in full body armor and carrying a machine gun of some kind.

"HEY!" Ness shouted to the three.

They all turned.

"Back away from the machine," Ness spoke over the roar of the portal beam.

The guy with a bow just sighs, turns-

Then spins around and fires an arrow.

Ness barely manages to block the arrow with a shield-

But the gun guy opens fire and Ness has to keep the shield up, but then Ness warps right behind them-

They spin around, but-

Rockin' α. Both fighters were knocked unconscious.

Ness turns to the third person. He was old and his hair was graying. His eyes were also glowing blue.

"I need you to shut off the portal. Like, right now."

"Can't you see!?" The man returns. "The universe needs balancing! This is but one of many steps in the great Thanos's grand plan!"

"Oh yeah? What is that plan?"

"Half the Universe!" He returns. "All gone! HAHA! Isn't it _perfect_!?"

Ness sighs. "Well, screw perfect."

Ness throws his hand forward and fires off PSI Rockin' y at the portal machine.

BOOM.

The machine reflected the attack right back!

Both Ness and the man were sent flying away.

As Ness falls, he throws out a hand. His fall is slowed enough for him to land on his feet.

Ness glances at the machine and reaches up to his ear, touching the comm that was in there.

"Rodgers, we've got some bad news."

_"What's- HAH!- Going on?"_

"The portal's shielded. Something tells me it won't be easy to break."

_"Well find a- No you don't!- Find a way!"_

Ness nods. "On it."

Ness turns around and oh, the old guy was waking up-

... His eyes weren't blue.

The moment he sees Ness, he seems to go into a panic, standing up-

"W-Who-?"

"Hey, hey, calm down, I'm a friendly."

The man takes a deep breath. "Okay."

"Right. Anyway, I'm Ness. You?"

"Erik. Erik Selvig."

"Fury mentioned you. By the by-"

Ness gestured to the portal machine. "Any idea how to turn this off?"

Erik frowns. "I-I think... I put in a failsafe. The scepter? Right... The scepter."

Ness nods and reaches up to his ear.

"Rodgers, you hear me?"

_"What's going on?"_

"I need you to get Loki and his scepter up here- It can close the portal."

_"Got it!"_

Ness lowers his hand and looks at Erik, who is staring at Ness in confusion.

"D-did you just imply Loki is fighting _with_ you?"

"Yeah. Apparently, you weren't the first victim of mind control."

Erik's eyes widen. "Oh."

It's at that moment that Ness and Erik were interrupted when somebody leapt off a nearby flying chariot to land next to them.

It's a woman with green skin, green hair, and a pair of shortswords.

She says nothing, just rushing forward and slashing repeatedly, focing Ness to back up, over and over-

He's near the ledge- But he warps so hes behind her but she wasn't surprised and spun around and slashed-

A large cut across Ness's torso, but it's already slowly healing-

Ness _slams_ a palm forward into her chest, causing her to back up-

He swings his baseball bat upwards into her chin, resulting in a loud _crack_ resounding through the air-

She stumbles, but doesn't fall, rubbing her chin.

Ness decides to press his advantage, charging PSI Rockin' α, and throwing it forwards-

But her eyes widen and she dodges quickly-

She throws her hand forward and a sword flies through the air and _right_ into Ness's leg.

Ness _yelps_ and falls to one knee, and the green woman draws her other sword and gets ready to stab-

But suddenly, an arrow spouts from her shoulder. She stumbles backwards.

Ness quickly glances behind him. Barton is standing behind him, eyes clear of blue light but _burning_ with fury.

He nods to Ness. Ness nods back.

They both turn to the woman. She backs up.

...

...

...

She turns around and leaps off the building, catching a Chitauri flying chariot.

Ness turns towards Barton.

"Did you know Loki's a good guy now?"

He blinks. "That would explain the 'balance' talk. Who's got the control now?"

"Alien named Thanos. Thinks he knows best for the universe."

"Ah."

He blinks. "You know, you should really do something about the sword in your leg."

"Yeah, probably."

So Ness reaches down and tears it out. Blood spurts everywhere for a moment, before the wound suddenly closes due to Lifeup β.

"...So. We just wait?"

"Yeah, I guess."

They glance around at the chaos surrounding them.

"I really hope the government doesn't try to cover this up or anything."

Suddenly, from the doors to the parlor comes Loki, holding the scepter.

He runs up to Ness and hands it over, giving a brief nod to Barton, who just scowls back.

Ness turns to close the portal.

"Alright, Captain! I'm about to close the portal-"

_"Not yet! There's a Nuke and it's headed straight for New York-"_

"A what-now? Who green-lit that!?"

_"World security council! Tony's gonna fly the Nuke into the portal!"_

"That's a terrible idea. Tell him I respect him for it."

_"Close the portal when I tell you to!"_

"Got it!"

Ness relayed the info to Loki and Barton.

Despite Loki's 'What is a Nuke...?' the three of them all raise their heads to stare at the massive hole in the sky, along with the tiny speck of a Nuke and Stark flying it into the hole.

They both vanish.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

_"...Close the portal."_

"But-"

_"Now!"_

Ness rushes over and _stabs_ the portal machine, uncaring of the resistance of the barrier.

The machine de-activates. The portal begins to close.

And close.

And close-

_Come on..._

Just before the portal closes all the way, Stark falls out.

"...He's gonna hit the ground!-"

But Hulk catches him.

"...Nevermind."

Ness places his hand on Barton and Loki's shoulders.

The three of them warp down to where Hulk landed.

Tony is lying on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Please tell me nobody kissed me."

"..."

...

...

...

"...We won. It's over," Rodgers quietly says.

"Alright! Hey. Alright. That's cool. Good job, guys," Tony says as he begins to stand.

"Let's just... Not come in tomorrow. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

...

...

"...I like shawarma," Ness says quietly.

Everybody chuckles.

* * *

Ness was, in a word, tired.

Healing two massive wounds, casually throwing around PSI, and having not slept in over 36 hours did not help.

The nine heroes of New York all sat around a table in a restaurant eating Shawarma.

It was nice.

* * *

Hours later, Ness stumbled into his apartment, half asleep and full.

Paula stood in the bedroom hallway, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

"You know, you could have told me the world was in danger. I would have come."

Ness shrugs. "Didn't want to distract you from Harmony. How's she doing, by the way?"

Paula smiles and steps to the side.

Ness walks forward and glances into the bedroom.

Harmony is asleep in her crib. Light breathing noises could be heard.

Ness smiles.

The parents quietly watch their child sleep.

...

...

...

...

...

There's a knock on the door.

Ness sighs. "I'll get it."

He opens the door and, to his surprise, it's... Loki?

"Hello."

"...Hey?"

"Oh! You must be Loki, right?" Paula asked, completely obliviously, from behind Ness. "I saw you on the news."

"...Ah. Yes. I am Loki. Greetings."

"So. Uh. What's up?"

"...I believe the Midgardian term is I was 'kicked out and need a place to stay.'"

"...Ah."

The three of them stared at each other.

...

...

...

...

"So, uh. Come in, I guess."

"Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you enjoyed, or if not, tell me why so I can improve!


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